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Introduction

Background for the two letters to the church in Thessalonica can be found by reading Luke’s account of Paul’s experience there in Acts 17. This city was the capital of the region called Macedonia, which covered the northern portion of what we today called Greece. (The southern portion of Greece was called Achaia, and included the city of Corinth.) The population of Thessalonica at the time was about 100,000, and it had a significant Jewish population. (Recall the Diaspora and how it resulted in a Jewish presence in many cities.) Being a seaport on the Aegean Sea and being situated on a main north-south land trade route, Thessalonica was a thriving commercial location.

Thessalonica was about a hundred miles down the road from Philippi (another Macedonian city). This would have been a three-day journey in those days. This trip was part of what is called Paul’s “Second Missionary Journey.” (For more on Paul’s major journeys, see that section of the BSN notes on Paul.) As usual, Paul went first to the synagogue to preach Christ when he arrived in the city. You only have to read the first 15 verses of Acts 17 to get the context for these two letters. Because of the intense opposition to the Gospel in Thessalonica, Paul was not able to stay in the city for long. (Contrast this with the lengthy times he was able to spend in Corinth and Ephesus.) The time of Paul’s visit to Thessalonica was in the late 40’s or early 50’s AD – about 15-20 years after the resurrection of Christ and the conversion of Paul. The time lapse between Paul’s visit and the first letter seems to have been weeks or months, and the time lapse between the two letters was about the same. Of course, we always wish we had more details about the context, both in Acts and in the letters, but what we have is helpful.

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1 Thessalonians 1

1 Th 1:1 – Silvanus was Silas.

1 Th 1:2 – Paul regularly prayed for believers. He rightly portrays the preacher as a man who doesn’t merely speak to people, but he also speaks to the Lord on their behalf – that is, he is a priest. A priest mediates between God and men.

Rom 15:15 But I have written very boldly to you on some points so as to remind you again, because of the grace that was given me from God,
Rom 15:16 to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles, ministering as a priest the gospel of God, so that my offering of the Gentiles may become acceptable, sanctified by the Holy Spirit.

This is in the same spirit as the Old Testament priesthood, as Samuel demonstrated.

1 Sam 12:23 “Moreover, as for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the LORD by ceasing to pray for you; but I will instruct you in the good and right way.

Thus teaching and praying go hand in hand. A man must pray for his wife and children before and after teaching them. Is the man of the house a priest? Indeed, he is. The new covenant brought a new priesthood to replace the old covenant priesthood.

Heb 7:12 For when the priesthood is changed, of necessity there takes place a change of law also.

This change was when Jesus replaced the priesthood according to the model of Aaron with a priesthood that was according to the order of Melchizedek.

Heb 7:11 Now if perfection was through the Levitical priesthood (for on the basis of it the people received the Law), what further need was there for another priest to arise according to the order of Melchizedek, and not be designated according to the order of Aaron?

The Law of Moses (found in the books Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy) is tediously detailed regarding the order of Aaron, but the order of Melchizedek (covered in Moses other book: Genesis) is fully described in only three verses (Gen 14:18-20). It’s simply enough: you put food on the table and bless the participants. That’s the kind of thing a man can do.

Thus you are to exercise your priesthood in the same godly spirit as Aaron and his sons, but in a different, much simpler way. (This reminds us of what Jesus said about His yoke being light in Matt 11:28-30). Aren’t you glad you don’t have to deal with animal sacrifices and wear strange garments. It’s your spirit that matters.

Heb 5:1 For every high priest taken from among men is appointed on behalf of men in things pertaining to God, in order to offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins;
Heb 5:2 he can deal gently with the ignorant and misguided, since he himself also is beset with weakness;
Heb 5:3 and because of it he is obligated to offer sacrifices for sins, as for the people, so also for himself.
Heb 5:4 And no one takes the honor to himself, but receives it when he is called by God, even as Aaron was.

Every other organization of human beings, large or small, God leaves to the human beings themselves to decide how it will operate. But He alone has designated how family is to work. Families don’t get to take votes about whom they want their leader to be. Husbands and wives don’t get to jointly decide that she will be the leader instead of him. We as men are designed to provide for and protect our families. We have our marching orders. We are called to leadership of our families. No one else has a divine calling to stand in the gap for them.

1 Th 1:3 – Remember this other time Paul spoke of faith, hope, and love in the same breath?

1 Cor 13:13 But now faith, hope, love, abide these three; but the greatest of these is love.

1 Th 1:4-5 – Paul could know that God had chosen these believers in Thessalonica because he saw with his own eyes the effect of God’s Holy Spirit on them. Paul was preaching the word of God and, by pouring out His Holy Spirit, God was confirming that these Thessalonians were believing it. Paul was an eyewitness to God’s acknowledgment of their genuine receptivity. ***** Just as Paul saw what kind of people they were when he was in their midst, so they had opportunity to see what kind of man he was as well.

1 Th 1:6-7 – What a commendation! We see Paul in his letters exhorting believers to imitate him as he imitates the Lord, but here we see Paul commending a congregation for actually doing it. You and your wife want your children to know the joy of hearing such commendations from you. Try to catch them doing something right…and let them know what it meant to you. Paul gave correction when it was needed and praise when it was warranted. He didn’t skimp on either.

1 Th 1:8 – Wow. Word about the Thessalonians’ receptivity to the gospel, especially in the midst of such fierce opposition from unbelieving Jews (Acts 17:5-9, 13), had garnered a reputation for them even beyond the regions of Macedonia and Achaia.

1 Th 1:9-10 – While Paul would be able to spend a great deal of time teaching in Corinth and in Ephesus, he had very little time in Thessalonica. He did have enough time, though, to teach them about the Second Coming of Christ, but not enough to be able to answer all their questions. This subject is going to come up in every chapter of this letter. The fact that Paul covered this subject in the limited time he had indicates that it was not an elective subject but rather essential to the gospel message. People need to know that Jesus is not just the Savior of the world – He’s the judge of it, too.

Ps 2:12 Do homage to the Son, that He not become angry, and you perish in the way,
For His wrath may soon be kindled.
How blessed are all who take refuge in Him!

***** Churches were not idols in New Testament times, but they are now. If you’re unfamiliar with the word “Nehushtan,” see the BSN on 2 Kings 18:4. It will help you understand what’s happened to churches. Don’t seek church; seek the kingdom of God.

Matt 6:33 “But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”

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1 Thessalonians 2

1 Th 2:1-2 – The experiences in Philippi to which Paul is referring are described by Luke in Acts 16:11-40. ***** The “much opposition” that Paul and those who believed him experienced in Thessalonica are described in Acts 17:5-9, 13-15.

1 Th 2:3-8 – There is much which Paul says here that we can adapt to our role as leaders and teachers of our children.

1 Th 2:3 – We need to examine ourselves and make sure we are not exhorting our children from a place of error, impurity, or deceit.

1 Th 2:4 – We must be seeking the approval of God in our fathering – not the approval of our children or of other people we might be tempted to impress.

1 Th 2:5 – It’s amazing how many parents flatter their children. They do so thinking that the more self-esteem the child has the better off the child will be. The elevation of self-esteem has been one of the primary goals of Americans since the 1970’s and anyone can see that the place to which this has brought our society is hellish. Even if the word of God didn’t warn us against such folly we’ve had enough negative outcomes from it to know that it’s long past time we gave it up. ***** As to “a pretext for greed,” I have seen parents who seem to compliment their children in hopes of reciprocal treatment. In other words, they want their children to think and say they are great parents. No compliment my child can give me will ever reduce the regret I feel for not having been a better father to them; likewise, no criticism my child can make of me will ever diminish the joy I feel in the sight of God for the things I know I did right by them. As Paul says, “God is witness” and His is the report card on my stewardship of my family that matters.

1 Th 2:6-7 – A man who is constantly asserting his authority is only displaying his weakness. A strong man is a gentleman.

1 Th 2:8 – As you daily impart the gospel and even your very life to your children, may you be filled with the kind of affection for them that Paul is describing here. 

1 Th 2:9-12 – Notice that in this paragraph, Paul speaks in two’s and three’s. I’m offering this paragraph just as an example, because he does this elsewhere in this letter, and in all his letters. My purpose in calling attention to it is so you can appreciate how it helps us understand Paul’s thoughts better – and therefore how you can help your children understand your thoughts better if you yourself make use of the technique.

1 Th 2:9 – “labor and hardship”

1 Th 2:10 – “night and day”

1 Th 2:10 – “You are witnesses, and so is God”

1 Th 2:10 – “devoutly and uprightly and blamelessly”

1 Th 2:11 – “exhorting and encouraging and imploring”

1 Th 2:12 – “kingdom and glory”

Too many fathers think the key to getting points across to their children is to shout louder. Paul shows his gentleness by the thoughtful and expansive way he explains things, giving his readers multiple ways to get the point.

1 Th 2:10 – Please notice that I am not the only one noticing the interchangeable nature of apostolic and fatherly instruction. Paul makes that very point when he says “as a father would his own children.”

1 Th 2:13 – There is a theme that runs through both this statement and the one from the verse just below. It is that the apostles spoke by the Holy Spirit of God.

1 Cor 14:37 If anyone thinks he is a prophet or spiritual, let him recognize that the things which I write to you are the Lord’s commandment.

When the Holy Spirit speaks through one of us – whether we are male or female – He does not change our personality. Rather, He speaks through our personality. The Bible is the work of Holy Spirit through human beings. There are a wide variety of personalities on display in the 66 books of the Bible…but the same Spirit.

Jesus had said that His apostles would conduct their ministries with, by, and through the same Holy Spirit who had spoken through the prophets who produced the Old Testament. In fact, He wouldn’t even let His apostles begin preaching of His resurrection and exaltation to heaven until the Holy Spirit came to them (Acts 1:4-8), which He did in great glory on the day of Pentecost. When believing the Bible, whether the OT or NT, we are accepting as true what the Holy Spirit was saying through Spirit-filled men. That’s what “inspired” means in the following statement from Paul.

2 Tim 3:16 All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness;
2 Tim 3:17 so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.

Thus when you – the man of God – read the Bible every day you are imbibing the words of the Spirit of God which equips you to do the good work that you need to do that day. Moreover, the Holy Spirit doesn’t leave you when you’ve finished reading. He stays with you at all times. Why then do we read the Bible every day? To keep ourselves tuned properly to the sound of His voice. How can we consider ourselves respectable men of God if we are not listening for His commands?

1 Th 2:14-16 – Paul was an apostle sent to the Gentiles. The church in Thessalonica was made up primarily of Gentiles (Acts 17:4). Paul was pointing out to the Thessalonians that their experience as a Gentile church was following the same pattern as that of the Jewish churches closer to Jerusalem where the entire Jesus movement had begun almost two decades earlier. Paul as Jew sent to Gentiles was well-positioned to observe both phenomena and make the comparison.

1 Th 2:17-18 – Paul wants to be sure the Thessalonians know that the reason he has not been back to see them is not because he didn’t want to come. He just didn’t have opportunity. Otherwise, the Thessalonians might easily have thought that Paul didn’t think they were worth all the hostility he’d have to face if he returned. And it was a lot of hassle. Your children also have to be assured from time to time that just because you are not with them as much as their mother is, it doesn’t mean you love them any less. On the contrary, it’s your love for their mother and them that causes you to work, which requires you to be away from them.

1 Th 2:19-20 – This is Paul’s second mention in this letter of the Second Coming, the first having been in 1 Th 1:9-10.

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1 Thessalonians 3

1 Th 3:1-5 – Paul’s interest in the Thessalonians was so great that when he got to the point that he had gone too long without hearing how they were doing, but still couldn’t go to them, he sent his beloved co-worker Timothy to check on them and help them. Giving up the presence and services of Timothy was a sign itself of Paul’s great affection for these people. They may have been out of Paul’s sight but they were not out of his mind. As he wrote elsewhere…

2 Cor 11:27 I have been in labor and hardship, through many sleepless nights, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure.
2 Cor 11:28 Apart from such external things, there is the daily pressure on me of concern for all the churches.

The Thessalonians were one of those churches for whose sake he was feeling “daily pressure.” Timothy’s purpose while there was to “strengthen and encourage them as to their faith.” Why? Lest afflictions cause them to abandon that faith. After all, afflictions always come where the word of God is sown. Sowing the word of God into the Thessalonians was what Paul had done on his first visit there – a point that Paul explicitly confirmed in the previous chapter (1 Th 2:13). Jesus taught dynamic of the affliction coming to those to whom the word of God had been spoken in his parable of the sower and the seed.

Mark 4:16 “In a similar way these are the ones on whom seed was sown on the rocky places, who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with joy;
Mark 4:17 and they have no firm root in themselves, but are only temporary; then, when affliction or persecution arises because of the word, immediately they fall away.

Not only this, but as Paul himself reminded Timothy:

2 Tim 3:12 Indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.

Paul had obviously made this point to the Thessalonians while he was with him because he says in verse 4: “…when we were with you, we kept telling you in advance…”

Therefore, the “afflictions and persecutions” that came upon the Thessalonians were not because Paul had done something wrong in his teaching. Nor was it that they had done something wrong in accepting or trying to follow Paul’s teaching. Rather, it was just the nature of this world that “when the word is sown, Satan comes immediately to take away the word which has been sown” (Mk 4:15). (As it was then, so it still is today.) As Paul said to their fellow Macedonians, what the Thessalonians were experiencing was actually a sign of good things to come for them and bad things to come for their opponents. 

Phil 1:27 Only conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or remain absent, I will hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel;
Phil 1:28 in no way alarmed by your opponents–which is a sign of destruction for them, but of salvation for you, and that too, from God.

What Paul goes on to say to the Philippians applies to the Thessalonians as well. 

Phil 1:29 For to you it has been granted for Christ’s sake, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake,
Phil 1:30 experiencing the same conflict which you saw in me, and now hear to be in me.

And, at this point, what he said to the Corinthians fits in as well:

2 Cor 1:7 and our hope for you is firmly grounded, knowing that as you are sharers of our sufferings, so also you are sharers of our comfort.

Thus to the Thessalonians, the Phillipians, the Corinthians, and every other NT church – and to us as well – Paul can say that where the word of God comes, faith comes. And where faith comes, testing comes. James and Peter concur.

James 1:2 Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials,
James 1:3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance.

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1 Pet 4:12 Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you, which comes upon you for your testing, as though some strange thing were happening to you;
1 Pet 4:13 but to the degree that you share the sufferings of Christ, keep on rejoicing, so that also at the revelation of His glory you may rejoice with exultation.

None of the apostles make explicit reference in their writings to Jesus’ parable of the sower and the seed, but there is no doubt they are all steeped in the understanding of how the word of God both grows and is opposed in this world. 

If we are to inherit the glories of Christ we must accept along with them the sufferings of Christ. (Suffering and Glory) We read the Bible every day, welcoming the word of God into our lives and the lives of our family. We do not get to hold onto that worth without a fight. But the fight is worth fighting for that seed will produce glorious fruit…if we can just keep it in the ground where it can grow.

1 Th 3:2 – Re: “the gospel of Christ” see #TGTC.

1 Th 3:6-8 – The word “faith” shows up five times in this chapter. Keep your eyes on the prize, men! When you leave this earth, you want the faith that has been in you to be resident and growing in your children – resistant to the temptations of the enemy to abandon it. If they stand firm in the faith of Jesus Christ, THAT is success!

1 Th 3:9-10 – If Paul can ever get back to them, how is he going to “complete what is lacking” in their faith? He’s going to keep doing what he did when he was there the first time: preach the gospel, because it’s the sowing of the word of God that brings forth faith.

Rom 10:17 So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.

It’s the same thing he’s going to do when he gets to Rome, with the same goal in mind.

Rom 1:15 So, for my part, I am eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome.
Rom 1:16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.
Rom 1:17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “BUT THE RIGHTEOUS man SHALL LIVE BY FAITH.”

The gospel isn’t just for unbelievers to hear. It’s also for believers to keep hearing…so they can keep growing in their understanding of it. Never stop preaching the gospel to yourself and your family. That’s what reading the Bible every day is all about.

1 Th 3:11-13 – As he did in 1 Th 1:9-10 and 1 Th 2:19-20, so Paul again reminds the Thessalonians of the Second Coming.

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1 Thessalonians 4

1 Th 4:1 – Having spent the first three chapters (reminder: Chapter and Verse Divisions Post-Date the Authors) of this letter smoothing out any remaining confusion from his short visit and abrupt departure, Paul now reinforces the practical teaching he had first given the Thessalonians during his time with them. For him to do this is an example of what he stated as a happy purpose to the Philippians:

Phil 3:1 Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord. To write the same things again is no trouble to me, and it is a safeguard for you.

That is, the Thessalonians don’t need a new set of instructions; they need their understanding of the original instructions to be deepened and strengthened.

1 Th 4:2 – The apostles were spokesmen of the Lord. They were not issuing commandments on their own authority.

Matt 10:40 “He who receives you receives Me, and he who receives Me receives Him who sent Me.”

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John 20:21 So Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you; as the Father has sent Me, I also send you.”

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1 Cor 14:37 If anyone thinks he is a prophet or spiritual, let him recognize that the things which I write to you are the Lord’s commandment.

Since Jesus didn’t write anything Himself, when we read what the apostles wrote – that is, when we read the New Testament texts – we’re getting as close to Jesus as possible. The apostles wrote “insider tell-alls.”

1 Th 4:3-8 – The word “sanctification” means “made holy.” For a man to be made holy, he must be sexually moral. What is sexually moral now in the 21st century is what was moral when Adam and Eve were created 6,000 years before. Sexual morals don’t evolve anymore than creation evolves. As has been correctly said, “The new morality is nothing but the old immorality dressed up in a new vocabulary.”

In other words, the sexual revolution of the 1960’s, which is ongoing, got everything wrong that could be gotten wrong. It has failed at every happiness it has attempted to achieve. It can never succeed because it is a rebellion against reality. The commandment to not commit adultery is woven into the fabric of the universe. The man who thinks he’s having a fling is having a marriage.

1 Cor 6:16 Or do you not know that the one who joins himself to a prostitute is one body with her? For He says, “THE TWO SHALL BECOME ONE FLESH.”

The only rule of sexual morality that modern society wants to respect is the law of mutual consent. But in taking this stand they are, without saying it explicitly, excluding from the equation the consent of sex’s Designer – which is incredibly myopic and self-defeating. Two humans can agree that the Titanic shouldn’t sink, but it did. Until men agree that sex is God’s game, societal ills will only grow worse. For when you get sex wrong, you get everything else wrong, too. That’s why Paul treats it as foundational in his review of what he taught the Thessalonians when he was with them.

For more on this subject, I hope you will read the book The Honor of Marriage.

1 Th 4:9 – Modern men often conflate love and sex in order to justify their lusts. For this reason it is helpful to us that Paul settles the issue of sexual morality before addressing the issue of love. True love respects sexual boundaries.

1 Th 4:10 – Paul here repeats the pithy exhortation he gave in the first verse of this chapter. I often write XL to myself as a reminder of this exhortation.

1 Th 4:11 – Breaking this verse down phrase by phrase:

“make it your ambition to lead a quiet life” -I love this unexpected combination of words. Normally, we associate “ambition” with a “loud” sort of life, but Paul shows how “ambition” can be quiet and godly rather than brassy and ungodly. 

“attend to your own business” – Paul spoke explicitly against “busybodies” in 2 Th 3:11 and 1 Tim 5:13. We call them social justice warriors today.

“work with your hands” – I hope keyboards count.

“just as we commanded you” – A reminder that Paul is springing no new commandments on the Thessalonians – just strengthening them in what they’ve already heard. We make a practice of re-reading the Bible because reading it once is just not enough. 

1 Th 4:12 – If we do what’s in verse 11, what’s in verse 12 becomes possible.

1 Th 4:13-18 – This will now be the fourth time in this letter that Paul has mentioned the Second Coming, and this time he will be more expansive in his comments. To better understand what he’s saying here, let me put before us what he has previously said.

1 Thess 1:9 For they themselves report about us what kind of a reception we had with you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve a living and true God,
1 Thess 1:10 and to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, that is Jesus, who rescues us from the wrath to come.

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1 Thess 2:19 For who is our hope or joy or crown of exultation? Is it not even you, in the presence of our Lord Jesus at His coming?
1 Thess 2:20 For you are our glory and joy.

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1 Thess 3:11 Now may our God and Father Himself and Jesus our Lord direct our way to you;
1 Thess 3:12 and may the Lord cause you to increase and abound in love for one another, and for all people, just as we also do for you;
1 Thess 3:13 so that He may establish your hearts without blame in holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all His saints.

We can tell from verse 13 that Paul is wanting to comfort the Thessalonians with what he is saying. The “hope” he is referring to is the hope of resurrection. When he says “asleep” he’s talking about people who have already died – specifically, loved ones of the Thessalonians who have already died. Recall that the Thessalonians are primarily Gentiles. Israel’s prophets had implanted in Jews the hope of resurrection, but Gentiles did not have such a hope. Jews believed that everyone who died descended to Sheol; Greeks called that place below Hades. The belief that the dead descended to a netherworld of some kind was common among ancient peoples. That the Jews spoke of the dead as “asleep” signaled an implicit hope that there would one day be a resurrection – a “waking up” and “rising” of those below. What Jesus brought to the Jewish conception was that not only would there be a resurrection, it would lead not just back to earth, but all the way to heaven. This amazed Jews when they heard it (Mt 22:23-33).

It seems that in the limited time Paul had been with the Thessalonians they had not absorbed the fullness of the Lord’s plans for resurrection. That is, they seemed to think that their relatives who were already dead might miss out on resurrection and that it would only apply to those who were living when the Lord came. But Paul here show the fullness of the Lord’s plan. It was as follows.

When Jesus died, He, like all human beings, descended to Sheol/Hades. When He was raised, He was raised all the way to heaven (after the 40-day layover – Acts 1:3). But He was the only one so raised at that time. The rest would not be raised until His coming in glory (what we call the Second Coming). Until then, people who died would still be descending to Sheol/Hades. When the day of the Lord came, all the inhabitants of Sheol/Hades would be raised to heaven. Thereafter, everyone who died would go straight to heaven – no more descending to Sheol/Hades first. Because modernity is a time of widespread biblical illiteracy, most people are unfamiliar with, or confused about, the afterlife. In the books The Biblical Case for Everyone Going to Heaven and The Biblical Case for the Second Coming as Accomplished Fact, I methodically explain the relevant Scripture passages (including this one).

If you believe that the Second Coming is still future then you must believe that human beings are still descending to Sheol/Hades when they die – that you yourself will descend at death unless the Lord comes before that time. But if that were true, it would make it impossible for this passage to ever have achieved the “hope” that Paul stated for it in verse 13. For Paul was speaking in terms of the Lord coming in that generation. That is, he spoke twice of “we who are alive and remain.” He made no allowance for a delay that would allow none of them to be remaining when the Lord came. If there was a chance that they would all die before the Lord came, then he misled them. And Jesus would have misled everyone (Mt 10:23; 16:28; 24:34). That’s just not possible. He is completely reliable.

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1 Thessalonians 5

1 Th 5:1 – This is similar to what Jesus told the apostles when they asked him about this subject just before He ascended into heaven.

Acts 1:6 So when they had come together, they were asking Him, saying, “Lord, is it at this time You are restoring the kingdom to Israel?”
Acts 1:7 He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or epochs which the Father has fixed by His own authority;
Acts 1:8 but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.”

The kingdom of God is not a spectator sport. We do not sit in the stands and watch the nations rise and fall. Rather, we are participants in the game, on the field in the middle of the action. Our mission is the same no matter what is going on around us: provide for and protect our families, spiritually and physically. That begins with a devotion to the word of God.

2 Tim 4:1 I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by His appearing and His kingdom:
2 Tim 4:2 preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction.

What Paul charged Timothy to do for churches is what we should take as our charge regarding our respective families.

1 Th 5:2 – We see here that Paul has not changed the subject as we have transitioned from 1 Th 4 to 1 Th 5. (Reminder: The Chapter and Verse Divisions Post-Date the Authors by a Thousand Years) He’s still talking about the Second Coming (“the day of the Lord will come”), which he was addressing in the last six verses of the previous chapter. ***** When Paul says the coming of the Lord will be “just like a thief in the night,” he is using the same expression Jesus used with His disciples when He taught about His return (Mt 24:43). Just because Paul was not part of the original twelve apostles does not mean he didn’t have access to the knowledge they gained. His co-worker Luke collected enough individual testimonies to produce an entire Gospel of his own. ***** The exact day and time of Jesus’ return was something that even He did not know while He was on earth. This is why His servants didn’t need to know exact days and times. They just needed to know the season – that is, the general time frame. Jesus had given them that when He told them it would happen before they all died (as we saw in the previous chapter). But He also gave them specific milestones that would have to be achieved first, which included, for example, the fall of Jerusalem, which we now know was in 70 AD but none of them knew that date until it happened.

1 Th 5:3 – Notice the consistency between what Paul is telling the Thessalonians and what Jesus told His apostles about the way it would be on the day of His coming.

Luke 17:26 “And just as it happened in the days of Noah, so it will be also in the days of the Son of Man:
Luke 17:27 they were eating, they were drinking, they were marrying, they were being given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all.
Luke 17:28 “It was the same as happened in the days of Lot: they were eating, they were drinking, they were buying, they were selling, they were planting, they were building;
Luke 17:29 but on the day that Lot went out from Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all.
Luke 17:30 “It will be just the same on the day that the Son of Man is revealed.

We can also see a consistency with things that are taking place in our own lifetimes. We don’t know “the day or the hour,” but we do know our nation is heading into a season of judgment. It’s been going the wrong direction for a long time, but we are now in a state of precipitous decline. The elevator cables in the skyscraper have snapped and at some point the free fall of the elevator is going to conclude with a slamming to the ground and a resulting shattering. We don’t know the moment of impact, but we know what’s ahead for the elevator won’t be pretty.

1 Th 4:7 – Those who believe in Jesus are “sons of light” and therefore we are not being caught off guard. We know that Jesus is not just the Savior of the world but the judge of it also. We know that a nation, no matter how wonderful its past, cannot thumb its nose at its Creator and continue succeeding. Such a nation is calling for a reckoning, and a day of reckoning will granted. Only they won’t like it. ***** Because we believe, we are no longer sons of darkness, sons of night. They do not see what’s coming. They think everything is just going to continue just as it always has.

2 Pet 3:3 Know this first of all, that in the last days mockers will come with their mocking, following after their own lusts,
2 Pet 3:4 and saying, “Where is the promise of His coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all continues just as it was from the beginning of creation.”

Today’s mockers won’t even grant “creation.” Instead, they say, “all continues just as it always has and always will because of evolution.”

We are not stargazers. We read the Bible every day – especially the New Testament – to remind ourselves of our marching orders. And we find plenty in this letter to practice and stay busy at the joyful life of righteousness.

1 Th 5:8 – Paul uses the analogy of armor and weapons as he does in Ephesians 6. We do fight. Jesus is not a peacenik.

1 Th 5:9-10 – Paul is saying here that we are “not destined for wrath” but earlier in the letter he said we were destined for afflictions. Remember:

1 Thess 3:3 so that no one would be disturbed by these afflictions; for you yourselves know that we have been destined for this.

What’s the difference? Afflictions are the hostilities (whether mild or heavy) that come to us because we have heard and believed the word of God. (See BSN notes above in 1 Th 3 about Jesus’ parable of the sower and the seed.) Such afflictions we cannot escape, but can endure. What we are not destined for is God’s wrath, which is much worse. Wrath is what comes on those who oppose God. Sure, everyone is going to heaven (Everyone Is Going to Heaven), but that doesn’t mean anyone escapes judgment (Judgment Is upon Us).

John 3:36 “He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.”

1 Pet 4:18 AND IF IT IS WITH DIFFICULTY THAT THE RIGHTEOUS IS SAVED, WHAT WILL BECOME OF THE GODLESS MAN AND THE SINNER?

We can survive the “afflictions” brought on us by the wicked a lot more easily than the wicked are going to be able to survive the “wrath” brought on them by God. It is in this confidence that we are to live every day. Our faith in X will protect us like a Passover in this earth, and will place us well in heaven when we get there. Thus the rewards of righteousness are for both this life and the next.

1 Th 5:11 – Given all that Paul has written to this point, this is obviously what we should be doing.

1 Th 5:12-22 – Lots of helpful specifics here – straightforward and easy to apply.

1 Th 5:23 – See the BSN note on Soul, Spirit, Body.

1 Th 5:24 – In this world, there is what we do and there is what God does. He will be faithful to do His part; let’s try to match that for our part.

1 Th 5:25 – We don’t think of Paul as needing their prayers…but he thought he did.

1 Th 5:26 – I think in our culture a holy hug or holy handshake will suffice.

1 Th 5:27 – Is this not what I am doing with you?

1 Th 5:28 – This was not a throwaway line for Paul. The Lord’s grace carried deep meaning for him.

1 Cor 15:10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me did not prove vain; but I labored even more than all of them, yet not I, but the grace of God with me.

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2 Cor 12:9 And He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me.

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